Rome. Lots, and lots, and lots of pictures.

I’ve been fortunate to visit Italy on a couple of prior occasions and was excited to take AJ there; it was also on her ‘must-visit’ list. We’d just spent a wonderful, sunny, lazy afternoon in the Tuscan countryside eating and drinking delicious things, but today was all about taking in as much as we could.

My parents have been to Rome, and my dad absolutely loved it. The upshot, he said, was to see as much as possible because there’s nowhere else like it. So, that’s what we tried to do.

Of all the days on the cruise, I think we were most excited about Rome. There were several excursion options, each offering something exciting, but we decided to go for the one that promised to show us the most stuff in the short amount of time we had there.

We got to see the Trevi Fountain, the ruins of ancient Rome, the Colosseum, and Saint Paul’s Basilica. The last one was the most jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring, incredible experience of them all. The sheer scale of the place, married to the intricate and beautiful artwork, carvings, and stonework, is mind-blowing. Then you realize that all of it was done by hand thousands of years ago, and … well, my eyes were popping the whole time we were in there.

Enjoy the photos.